IC-NRLF 


R      L  U       C  L  H 


P 

221 
B28 
1897 

MAIN 


t 


of 


ot 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


'erH 


Received 
Accession  No. 


GW^r** 
Class  No. 


T  H 


SCIENCE  OF  SPEECH. 


BY 


ALEXANDER   MELVILLE   BELL, 

PRESIDENT     OF     THE     PHONETIC     SECTION     OF     THE     MODERN     LANGUAGE 
ASSOCIATION   OF   AMERICA. 


THE    VOLTA    BUREAU, 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

1897. 


Copyright  by 

THE  VOLTA   BUREAU. 

1897. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

Introduction,      .....  5 

Vowels,          ......  9 

Glides, 25 

Consonants,                                                   .  27 

Aspirate,  40 

r  o*- 

Whisper,  ....     40 

Trills,                  .  41 

Clicks, 41 

Teaching  the  Deaf,  "   .          ...  42 

Fluency,         .         .         .         .         .  .43 

Impediments  of  Speech,     ...  44 

Articulative  Defects,      .         .         .  .45 

Management  of  the  Breath,        .          .  46 

Articulative  Impulse,              .          .  .47 

Expulsive  Clicks,        ....  48 

Articulation  in  Singing,          .          .  .48 

Pharyngeal  Exercise,           ...  49 

English  Elements,           .          .          .  .50 

Index,        ......  53 


INTKODUCTION. 


In  the  present  work  an  explanation  is  of- 
fered of  all  the  actions  of  the  mouth  and  the 
vocal  organs  which  produce  speech. 

In  the  System  of  Visible  Speech,  the  ele- 
ments of  languages  are  exhibited  in  symbols, 
which,  to  the  initiated,  are  self-explanatory. 
That  system  may  therefore  be  considered  as 
a  species  of  SHORTHAND  FOR  THE  MECHANISM 
OF  UTTERANCE,.  The  present  work  describes 
the  same  elements,  WITHOUT  SYMBOLS;  the 
formation  of  the  sounds  being  fully  ex- 
pressed in  their  NOMENCLATURE. 

Some  beginners  are  apt  to  be  repelled  at 
sight  of  unknown  symbols^ under  the  im- 
pression that  the  latter  must  be  difficult  to 
learn.  But  this  idea  soon  gives  way,  before 
the  lucidity  and  simplicity  of  the  exponent 
symbols  of  Visible  Speech. 

For  the  purpose  of  REPRESENTING  language 
the  symbols  cannot  be  dispensed  with— 


()  INTRODUCTION. 

forming,  as  they  do,  a  Universal  Alphabet — ; 
but,  for  communicating  a  knowledge  of  the 
elements  of  languages,  description  may  take 
the  place  of  symbolism.  Such  is,  at  least,  the 
hope  of  the  author,  in  preparing  this  work. 
At  present,  a  great  part  of  the  knowledge  of 
linguistic  science  is  locked  up  in  the  symbols 
of  Visible  Speech.  This  knowledge  is  now 
made  accessible  to  all  readers. 

There  is,  undoubtedly,  an  advantage  in  be- 
ing able  to  enter  at  once  on  a  study  without 
the  necessity  of  first  mastering  a  new  medium 
of  instruction.  No  such  necessity  exists  in 
connection  with  the  study  of  the  Science  of 
Speech,  as  here  presented.  The  whole  sub- 
ject, from  first  to  last,  is  expounded  in  ordinary 
language.  This  book  may  therefore  be  put 
into  the  hands  of  pupils  in  schools  and  col- 
leges, without  explanatory  preparation.  Some 
ready  means  of  studying  the  Science  of 
Speech  has  long  been  wanted.  This  little 
book  is  specially  designed  to  furnish  the 
means,  and  supply  the  want. 


INTRODUCTION.  I 

This  work  will  also  prove  useful  as  an  in- 
troduction to  Visible  Speech.  Few  teachers 
of  Modern  Languages  have  as  yet  taken  the 
trouble  to  study  that  system,  and  apply  it  in 
their  classes ;  although  it  would  be  found  to 
be  of  unique  assistance,  in  removing  all  diffi- 
culty from  the  mastery  of  foreign  pronunci- 
ations. Nor  have  teachers  in  the  Public 
Schools  availed  themselves,  to  any  great  ex- 
tent, of  the  manifest  advantages  of  the  system 
for  native  learners.  Only  among  teachers  of 
the  DEAF  have  the  benefits  of  a  training  in 
Visible  Speech  been  duly  appreciated. 

This  backwardness  to  accept  the  help  of 
such  a  phonetic  instrument  is,  no  doubt,  to 
be  largely  attributed  to  the  imaginary  diffi- 
culty of  learning  the  symbols.  Here,  only 
the  meaning  of  the  symbols  is  taught.  Repre- 
sentation of  sounds  is  everything  in  "  Visible 
Speech."  In  the  "  Science  of  Speech  "  DIS- 
CRIMINATION is  all,  and  representation  is 
nothing. 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  SPEECH, 


VOWELS. 

The  question  has  been  often  asked  :  "  How 
many  vowels  are  there  ?  "  It  might  as  well 
have  been  :  "  How  many  colors  are  there  ?  " 
We  have  shades  of  red,  and  green,  and  vio- 
let ;  and  compounds  of  each,  with  any,  or  all, 
of  the  others;  and  every  tint  may  be,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  diluted  with  white  or 
with  black;  so  that  the  total  number  of 
recognizable  varieties  is  practically  beyond 
computation.  So  with  vowels. 

Back,  Top,  and  Front  Vowels. 

Certain  vowels  receive  their  color,  or 
characteristic  quality,  from  the  back  of  the 
tongue,  directed  to  the  back  of  the  mouth ; 
certain  others  from  the  top  of  the  tongue 
directed  towards  the  roof  of  the  mouth;  and 


10  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

a  third  set  from  the  front  surface  of  the 
tongue  directed  to  the  front  of  the  mouth, 
or  the  alveolar  arch. 

Each  of  these  three  sets  is  subject  to  fur- 
ther modification  by  contraction  of  the  aper- 
ture of  the  mouth — the  lips.  We  have  thus 
four  varieties  of  vowel  "color,"  produced  by 
the  back,  the  top,  and  the  front  of  the 
tongue,  and  by  the  lips. 

The   lips  have  110  independent  action   in 
vowel  formation.     They  merely  modify  the 
effect  of  lingual  action.     In  forming  Back, 
Top,  and  Front  vowels   the  lips  should  be 
kept  out  of  the  way;  so  as  to  preserve  the 
series    of   unlabialized  vowels  distinct  from 
the  series  of  labialized  vowels.     For  labial-  { 
ized  vowels,   the  lips  cover  the  teeth  to  a 
greater   or   less    extent.      For    unlabializedi 
vowels  the  teeth  are  visible.     This  criterion 
should  be  a  convenience  to  the  learner. 
Labialized  Vowels. 

Any  lingual  vowel  may  be  labialized,  and 
any  labialized  vowel  may  be  delabialized,  by 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  11 

spreading  the  lips  apart,  while  the  tongue 
maintains  its  position  unchanged.  In  this 
way,  a  learner  gains  perfect  command  over 
the  whole  gamut  of  vowels ;  and  even  pro- 
duces, with  certainty,  sounds  which  he  may 
never  have  heard  before  he  utters  them. 

High,  Mid,  and  Loiv  Vowels. 

Now  bear  in  mind  the  three  radically  dif- 
ferent vowel  colors  produced  by  the  back, 
the  top,  and  the  front  of  the  tongue,  and  we 
shall  be  prepared  for  another  step  in  vowel 
classification. 

The  vowel  Ee  is  a  Front  vowel ;  and  it 
has  the  tongue  RAISED  within  the  palatal 
arch,  in  the  highest  possible  degree,  consist- 
ent with  the  maintenance  of  a  free  channel 
for  the  sound.  But  the  TOP  of  the  tongue 
may  be  equally  raised,  toward  the  roof  of 
the  mouth,  forming,  as  it  were,  an  ee  at  the 
middle  of  the  tongue.  And  the  BACK  of 
the  tongue  may  be  equally  raised,  towards 
the  back  of  the  mouth,  forming,  as  it  were, 


12  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPPIECH. 

an  ee  at  the  back  of  the  tongue.  We  have 
thus,  clearly  discriminated,  three  HIGH  vow- 
els,— High  Back,  High  Top,  and  High 

Front. 

Deldbializing  Vowels. 

To  show  the  directive  effect  of  these  rela- 
tions of  sound  to  sound,  take  an  example : 

The  High  Back  vowel  is  a  Gaelic  sound, 
which  has  probably  never  been  heard  by 
nine-tenths  of  those  who  may  read  these 
words ;  yet,  this  unheard  sound  will  be  pro- 
duced, with  uniformity,  by  every  person,  at 
the  first  effort.  Proceed  thus :  Sound  the 
vowel  oo,  and,  while  doing  so,  separate  the 
lips  with  finger  and  thumb ;  and,  instead  of 
oo,  the  High  Back  vowel  will  be  heard. 

The  technical  name  of  the  vowel  oo — High 
Back  Round — explains  the  mechanism  of  the 
sound.  The  tongue  is  in  the  High  Back  posi- 
tion, and  the  sound  is  labialized.  Separating 
the  lips  delabializes  the  sound,  and  thus  the 
pure  High  Back  vowel  is  involuntarily  pro- 
duced. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  13 

Nine  Vowels. 

The  tongue  may  maintain  its  back,  top,  or 
front  presentation  at  any  degre  of  elevatiom 
within  the  mouth.  Perfectly  definite  vowel 
"colors"  are  obtained  at  the  three  eleva- 
tions: High,  Mid,  and  Low.  High  vowels 
have  the  tongue  nearest  to  the  palate ;  and 
therefore  the  cavity  of  the  mouth  is  of  mini- 
mum size :  LOW  vowels  have  the  tongue 
most  depressed  from  the  palate;  and  the 
cavity  of  the  mouth  is  therefore  of  maximum 
size :  MID  vowels  have  the  tongue,  about 
midway  between  High  and  Low.  Our  three 
organic  vowels — Back,  Top,  and  Front — have 
now  become  nine ;  each  of  them  individual- 
ized to  the  mind,  and  absolutely  located  in 
the  mouth  ;  namely : 

High  Back,  High  Top,  ;  High  Front 
Mid  Back,  Mid  Top,  |  Mid  Front 
Low  Back,  Low  Top,  Low  Front 

. 


14  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

Primary  and  Wide  Vowels. 

There  are  two  phonetic  varieties  of  each  of 
these  nine  vowels:  (1)  the  primary,  or  most 
definite  in  quality;  and  (2)  the  Wide,  or  com- 
paratively indefinite.  The  High  Front  vowel 
is  ee(l) ;  and  the  High  Front  Wide  vowel 
is  i(ll).  To  continue  the  color  analogy : 
Suppose  the  High  Front  vowel  to  be  a  pure 
red,  then  the  High  Front  Wide  vowel  will 
be  red  dulled  with  a  neutral  tint.  The  na- 
ture of  this  neutral  quality,  which  changes 
Primary  vowels  into  their  Wide  counterparts, 
may  be  understood  from  the  explanation,  that, 
behind  the  aperture  of  the  primary  vowel, 
the  cavity  of  the  mouth  is  expanded  for  Wide 
vowels,  so  as  to  weaken  the  organic  quality 
of  the  sound,  whether  Back,  Top,  or  Front. 

Eighteen  Vowels. 

Every  Primary  vowel  has  its  Wide  con- 
gener ;  therefore  the  nine  vowels  already  in- 
troduced, at  once  become  eighteen, — nine 
Primary  and  nine  Wide.  The  nomenclature 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  15 

of  these  sounds  will  give  a  clear  conception  of 
the  mechanical  cause  of  each  variety.    Thus : 

High  Back 

High  Back  Wide 

Mid  Back 

Mid  Back  Wide 

Low  Back 

Low  Back  Wide 

High  Top 

High  Top  Wide 

Mid  Top 

Mid  Top  Wide 

Low  Top 

Low  Top  Wide 

High  Front 

High  Front  Wide 

Mid  Front 

Mid  Front  Wide 

Low  Front 

Low  Front  Wide 

A  Vowel  Discover  ij. 

The  distinction  between  Primary  and  Wide 
vowels  is  one  of  the  discoveries  of  Visible 


16  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

Speech.  I  had  been  haunted,  for  years,  by  a 
sound,  which  I  was  constantly  hearing  from 
Scotch  speakers,  but  which  would  not  fit  into 
any  of  my  experimental  Tables.  It  was 
like  the  Mid  Front,  and  also  like  the  Low 
Front ;  but  was  not  exactly  either ;  nor  was 
it  an  intermediate  sound.  The  difference 
was  ultimately  discovered  to  lie  in  the  en- 
largement of  the  cavity  behind  the  aperture 
of  the  Mid  Front  vowel.  This  became  the 
key  to  the  entire  vowel  scheme.  In  fact,  but 
for  this  discovery,  the  System  of  Visible 
Speech  could  not  have  been  invented.  The 
erratic  vowel,  thus  at  last  fixed  in  its  true 
location,  is  the  Mid  Front  Wide  vowel — a 
common  Scotch  sound,  heard  in  ill,  yes,  her. 
The  general  characteristic  of  Wide  vowels 
has  been  stated  to  be,  comparative  weakness 
of  organic  quality — that  is,  of  Back,  Front, 
or  Top  "  color."  This  will  be  manifest  by 
comparing  the  Primary  and  the  Wide  sounds 
in  the  following  Front  vowels. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  17 

Sounds  of  Front  Vowels. 

High  Front eel 

Mid  Front ale 

Low  Front ell 

High  Front  Wide ill 

Mid  Front  Wide ill  (Scotch) 

Low  Front  Wide an 

Back  Wide  Vowels. 

Back  Wide  vowels  have  a  clearer  sound 
than  their  primaries,  because  the  guttural 
quality  of  the  latter  is  necessarily  lessened 
by  the  widening  of  the  resonance  cavity. 
Thus  the  Low  Back  Wide  vowel,  aA,  is  dis- 
tinctively the  purest  in  tonality  of  all  vowels, 
because  freest  from  friction.  The  vowel  aw 
depresses  the  root  of  the  tongue  a  little 
more,  so  as  to  direct  the  sound  against  the 
lips ;  but,  keep  off  labial  quality,  and,  stretch 
the  organs  how  you  will,  you  cannot  get  a 
lower  tongue-attitude  than  that  for  ah. 


18  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

Sounds  of  Back  Vowels. 

High  Back laocLh  (Gaelic) 

Mid  Back up 

Low  Back up  (Scotch) 

High  Back  Wide .  .   -tion 
Mid  Back  Wide.  ..  ask 
Low  Back  Wide .  .    ah 

Uncovering  Lingual  Vowels. 
Just  as  the  High  Back  vowel  is  uncovered 
by  the  delabializing  of  oo  (seepage  12)  so  the 
Mid  Back  vowel  is  obtained  by  delabializing 
o  ;  and  the  Low  Back  vowel  by  delabializing 
aw. 

The  student  should  repeat  all  these  ex- 
periments in  order  to  satisfy  himself  of  the 
reality  of  the  relations. 

Sounds  of  Top  Voivels. 

High  Top er,  ir,  ur  (Amer.) 

Mid  Top (ohn)e  (German) 

Low  Top zur  (Prov.  Eng. ) 

High  Top  Wide.  .    er,  ir,  ur  (Amer.) 
Mid  Top  Wide...    (sof)a 
Low  Top  Wide. .  .   err,  her,  sir 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  19 

The  Top  vowels  are  phonetically  associated 
with  the  letter  R  The  High  Top  and  High 
Top  Wide  are  heard  in  the  American  pro- 
nunciation of  er,  ir,  ur  ;  the  Low  Top  is  a 
Provincial  English  variety ;  and  Low  Top 
Wide  is  the  ordinary  English  pronunciation 
of  ei\  ir,  yr.  Mid  Top  and  Mid  Top  Wide 
are  the  sounds,  respectively,  of  unaccented 
e,  in  German,  and  a,  in  English. 

The  Natural  Vowel. 

The  Mid  Top  vowel  has  been  called — not 
inaptly — the  natural  vowel,  because  the 
tongue  is  central  in  the  mouth,  with  neither 
Back,  Front,  High,  nor  Low  modification. 

Round  Vowels. 

The  formation  of  eighteen  vowels  has  now 
been  explained,  and  their  verbal  usage  illus- 
trated. Each  of  these  sounds  is  susceptible 
of  being  "  Rounded "  or  labialized.  And 
here  a  principle  of  symmetry  prevails.  In 
proportion  to  the  height  of  the  tongue  within 


20  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

the  mouth,  is  the  narrowness  of  the  aperture 
between  the  lips.  Thus  High  Round  vowels 
have  the  smallest  lip  aperture ;  Mid  Round 
vowels  have  a  medium  lip  aperture ;  and 
Low  Round  vowels  merely  have  the  corners 
of  the  lips  rounded  off.  The  three  degrees 
of  labial  aperture  are  exemplified  in  the 

vowels 

oo,  o,  aw. 

Thirty-six  Vowels. 

By  adding  symmetrical  labial  modification 
to  each  of  the  eighteen  vowels  already  de- 
scribed, the  number  of  vowel  elements  is  in- 
creased to  thirty-six.  For  all  practical  pur- 
poses, this  number  has  proved  to  be  ample ; 
but,  theoretically,  the  gamut  of  vowels  might 
be  extended,  if  desirable  for  any  purpose, 
by  recognizing  more  than  three  divisions  be- 
tween High  and  Low,  and  between  Back 
and  Front.  Labialized  vowels  might  also  be 
further  increased  by  recognizing  non-sym- 
metrical labialization — such  as  narrow  lip 
aperture  with  Low  vowels,  and  broad^  lip 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  21 

aperture  with  Higli  vowels.  These  specula- 
tive classifications  are  merely  indicated  here, 
as  possibilities.  Their  use  would  require  an 
auricular  perception,  and  an  oral  precision  of 
utterance,  far  beyond  the  capability  of  aver- 
age speakers  or  students. 

Guttural  .Rounding. 

tt 

Round  vowels  will  now  be  understood  to 
be  symmetrically  labialized  lingual  vowels. 
It  is  possible  to  imitate  the  effect  of  labial 
modification  by  guttural  contraction.  This 
expedient  is  employed  by  ventriloquists,  who 
speak  without  visible  use  of  the  lips ;  but 
we  may  dismiss  non-labial  rounding  with 
mere  mention,  as  beyond  ordinary  require- 
ments. Labial  modification  is,  normally, 
something  that  may  be  added  to  a  lingual 
vowel  without  affecting  its  formation;  or 
that  may  be  removed  from  a  round  vowel 
without  altering  the  position  of  the  tongue. 

The  labializing  of  vowels  may  be  experi- 
mentally illustrated  by  means  of  the  hand 


22  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

on  the  mouth.  Put  the  fingers  of  the  right 
hand  on  the  left  cheek,  or  of  the  left  hand 
on  the  right  cheek,  and  gradually  cover  the 
mouth  with  the  hand  while  you  soiled  ah. 
The  quality  of  the  vow^el  will  be  changed  by 
every  movement  of  the  hand;  becoming,  in 
succession,  aw  o  oo.  This  experiment  proves 
that  merely  a  diminished  labial  aperture  is 
required,  to  form  from  ah,  the  sounds  of  aw, 
o,  oo ;  and  that,  consequently,  there  is  no 
iieerf  for  the  pouting  of  the  lips  which  is  so 
ungracefully  common. 

Sounds  of  Back  Round  Vowels. 

High  Back  Round pool 

3^id  Back  Round soul 

Low  Hack  Round >.  .      all ,  „ 

High  Back  Wide  Round ....   pull 

Mid  Back  Wide  Round soar 

Low  Back  Wide  Round or 

The  Back  Round  vowels  are  all  English 
sounds,  and  they  are  perfectly  discriminated 
in  general  usage. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  23 

y  Sounds  of  Top  Round  Vowels. 

High  Top  Round . .  u  (N.  Ir.) 

Mid  Top  Round homme  (French) 

Low  Top  Round ii  (Ir.) 

High  Top  Wide  Round. 
Mid  Top  Wide  Round.. 
Low  Top  Wide  Round. .  out  (London) 

The  Top  Round  vowels  are,  for  the  most 
part,  dialectic  sounds,  sonae  of  which  are  not,  j 
as  yet,  definitely  a^dwated   with  linguistic 
key-words.  ^  ^ 

Soiind^f  Front  Round  Vowels. 

High  ^rpn^t  Round ii  (Ger.) 

Mjd  Front  Round u  (French.) 

Low  Front  Round 6  (Ger.) 

High  Front  Wide*  Round,   gude  (Scotch.) 
Mid  Front  ^Vide  Round ...  » 

Low  Front  Wide  Round . . 

The  'Front  Round  vowels  are  all  foreign 
sounds,  but  their  Primary  forms  are,  in  gen- 
eral, well  discriminated,  and  fixed  in  usage. 


24  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

Thus  the  High  Front  Round  vowel  has  the 
tongue  in  the  position  for  ee  and  the  lips  in 
the  position  for  oo.  The  Mid  Front  Round 
vowel  has  the  tongue  as  for  a  and  the  lips  as 
for  <?;  and  the  Low  Front  Round  vowel  has 
the  tongue  as  for  a  (Ger.)  and  the  lips  as 
for  aw. 

The  student  should  exemplify  these  facts, 
by  delabializing  $,  ?/,  b.  In  this  way  lie  will 
uncover  the  High,  Mid,  and  Low  Front 
vowels. 

The  High  Front  Wide  Round  vowel  has 
the  tongue  as  for  I  and  the  lips  as  for  oo. 
This  sound  is  heard  in  the  pronunciation  of 
the  word  gude  (Scotch).  Representative 
words  in  French  or  German  will,  no  doubt, 
be  found  for  the  other  Front  Wide  Round 
vowels,  when  native  orthoepists  undertake 
the  investigation.  Meantime  the  student 
should  remember  that  the  SOUNDS  ARE 
REALITIES  ;  and  he  should  be  able  to  produce 
them,  irrespective  of  keywords,  from  the  data 
furnished  in  these  pages. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  25 

Good  Pronunciation. 

All  who  aim  at  a  good  pronunciation  will 
be  careful  to  preserve  the  minor  differences 
in  vowel  sound.  Nothing  can  be  more 
pleasing  to  the  ear  than  a  clear  phonetic 
syllabication,  in  which  every  element  is  per- 
fectly individualized.  This  quality  of  beauti- 
ful speech  is  a  rare  and  distinguishing  mark 
of  refinement.  But  with  this  distinctiveness 
must  go  correctness;  which  can  only  be  at- 
tained by  training,  study,  and  observation.  A 
Table  of  English  elements  will  be  found  at 
page  50.  These  should  all  be  practised  until 
the  ear  can  recognize,  and  the  operating 
organs  can  satisfactorily  reproduce,  every 

variety. 

GLIDES. 

Vowels  are  syllabic  sounds  ;  that  is  to  say, 
every  vowel  makes  a  syllable ;  but  the  vowel 
may  be  changed  in  quality  without  making  a 
new  syllable  ;  the  radical  sound  may  slide 
towards  another  position  at  the  close  of  the 
same  syllable. 


26  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

English  Glides. 

Thus  we  have  a  series  of  GLIDES,  or 
non-syllabic  vowel-like  sounds,  which  play  a 
very  important  part  in  pronunciation.  The 
diphthongs  /,  Oi,  Ow,  unite  an  open  radical 
vowel  with  a  gliding"  approximation  to  the 
closest  vowel  positions,  ee  and  oo  ;  and  the  syl- 
lables air,  ear,  ire,  ore,  unite  their  respective 
radical  sounds  with  the  vowel-like  quality  of 
r.  Any  radical  vowel  may  be  united  with 
any  other  terminal  quality,  as  a  Glide ;  but 
the  English  Glides  are  only  three  in  number, 
namely,  approximations  to  the  sound  of  Y, 
(ee,)  W,  (oo,)  and  R,  (er). 

The  reader  will  distinguish  between  these 
articulative  Glides  and  vocal  inflections.  The 
latter  are  slides  of  the  voice  from  one  pitch 
to  another.  The  Glides  here  described  are 
transitions  from  one  position  to  another  of  the 
oral  organs. 

The  name-sounds  of  the  letters  A  and  O 
are,  in  Anglican  usage,  pronounced  with 
glides :  Thus,  A  ee,  0  oo. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  2( 

•  CONSONANTS. 

To  feel,  and  to  make  manifest,  the  differ- 
ence between  a  vowel  and  a  consonant,  let 
the  student  perform  the  following  experi- 
ments : 

1.  Prolong  the    sound    of    the  vowel   ee, 
and,  while   doing  so,  strike  the  tongue  mo- 
mentarily upwards  with  the  point  of  a.  fin- 
ger, from  below  the  chin,  and  the  sound 

ee  ee  ee  ee  ee 
will  be  changed  to 

ye  ye  ye  ye  ye, 
at  every  impact  of  the  finger. 

2.  Prolong  the    sound   of    the   vowel  oo, 
and,  while  doing  so,  gently  strike  the  lower 
lip  upwards  with  the  point  of  a  finger,  and 
the  sound 

00    00    00    00    00 

will  be  changed  into 

woo  woo  woo  woo  woo, 
at  every  impact  of  the  finger. 

From  these  experiments  we  learn  that  the 
oral  channel  of  a  vowel  has  a  fixed  configu- 


28  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

ration,  through  which  the  voice  issues  unob- 
structedly  from  the  throat  to  the  oral  aper- 
ture ;  while  the  oral  channel  of  a  consonant 
is  constricted  or  obstructed  at  some  part,  so 
as  to  produce  an  organic  flap  in  passing 
from  one  position  to  another,  or  to  cause  a 
degree  of  friction  on  the  passing  breath. 
Vowels,  then,  are  throat-sounds  which  are 
merely  moulded,  by  the  shape  and  direction 
of  their  oral  channel,  into  Back,  Top,  or 
Front  formations;  but  Consonants  have  a 
superadded  effect,  originating  in  the  mouth. 
The  organic  identity  of  the  sounds  Ee  and 
Yj  and  Oo  and  W,  accounts  for  the  confu- 
sion into  which  orthoepists  have  been  led  in 
classifying  these  elements.  Y  is  ee,  and  W 
is  oo,  with  organic  compression  added.  Re- 
move compression  from  Y  and  W  and  these 
elements  are  vowelized  into  ee  and  oo ;  add 
*  compression  to  ee  and  oo,  and  these  elements 
are  consonantized  into  Y  and  W. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  29 

Sounds  'of  It. 

Other  vowels  may  be  consonantized,  and 
other  consonants  may  be  vowelized.  The 
sounds  of  R  illustrate  both  these  conditions. 
Before  a  vowel  R  is  consonantized,  and  be- 
fore a  consonant  R  is  vowelized.  The 

sounds  of 

V,  Dh,  Z,  Zh,  L 

may  all  be  vowelized,  by  pronouncing  them 
without  friction.  And  this  is  a  common 
source  of  indistinctness.  Consonants  depend 
on  their  fricative  or  their  flapping  quality 
for  clearness  of  utterance. 

Experimental  Exercise. 

We  have  seen  that  the  High  Front  posi- 
tion of  the  tongue  yields  the  consonant  Y, 
and  that  the  High  Back  position,  labialized, 
yields  the  consonant  W.  But  the  same 
Back  position,  unlabialized,  will  yield 
another  consonant.  The  student  will  form 
the  latter  by  delabializing  oo,  and  conso- 
nantizing  the  resulting  vowel. 


30  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

The  three  Back  positions  which,  when 
labialized,  yield  the  vowels  Oo  0  and  Aw 
will  also  yield  three  unlabialized  consonants, 
formed  at  the  High  Back,  Mid  Back,  and 
Low  Back  positions.  The  student  should 
exemplify  each  of  these  elements.  Al- 
though they  do  not  all  occur  in  English 
speech,  they  should  be  formed  experiment- 
ally, to  give  control  over  the  organs,  and  to 
qualify  the  speaker  for  the  mastery  of  the 
mouth. 

Sounds  of  German  cli. 

The  sound  of  ch  in  nacli  (German)  is  a 
Back  consonant,  formed  by  squeezing  the 
breath  between  the  Back  of  the  tongue  and  the 
soft  palate ;  and  the  sound  of  ch  in  ich  (Ger- 
man) is  a  Front  consonant,  formed  by  squeez- 
ing the  breath  between  the  front  surface  of 
the  tongue  and  the  upper  gum.  Sometimes 
the  latter  sound  is  formed  farther  back,  or 
nearly  at  the  Top  of  the  tongue.  The  neces- 
sities of  assimilation  between  proximate  ele- 
ments— as  well  as  the  habits  of  individual 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  31 

speakers — will   often   thus  vary  the   precise 
point  of  an  articulation. 

Voice  Consonants. 

Each  of  the  organic  positions  hitherto  de- 
scribed, yields  a  second  consonant  when  the 
formative  breath  is  vocalized.  Thus,  pass 
VOICE  fricatively  over  the  back  of  the 
tongue,  and  you  hear  the  Back  Voice  conso- 
nant Gh  or  smooth  guttural  R.  Pass  voice 
fricatively  over  the  point  of  the  tongue,  and 
you  hear  the  Point  Voice  consonant  R. 

Mixed   Consonants. 

Consonants  called  MIXED  have  the  breath 
or  the  voice  modified  simultaneously  at  two 
parts  of  the  mouth.  Thus  the  Top  Mixed 
consonant  (Sh-Zh)  has  the  Top  of  the  tongue 
raised,  while  the  Point  is  also  raised  subordi- 
riately; — so  that  the  fricative  quality  is  de- 
veloped over  the  Top  of  the  tongue.  The 
Point  Mixed  consonant  (S-Z)  has  the  Point 
raised,  while  the  Top  is  also  raised  subordi- 


32  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

nately ; — so  that  the  fricative  quality  is  de- 
veloped over  the  Point  of  the  tongue.  The 
sound  of  Wh-W  is  Lip  Mixed  (with  Back), 
with  the  fricative  quality  on  Lip.  A  gut- 
tural sound,  heard  in  sough  (Scotch),  is  Back 
Mixed  (with  Lip)  with  the  fricative  quality 
on  Back. 

Divided  Consonants. 

The  principle  will  now  be  understood 
which  forms  either  a  vowel  or  a  consonant 
from  any  given  position  of  the  tongue.  All 
the  elements  hitherto  introduced  have  a 
centre-aperture  for  the  emission  of  the 
breath  or  voice ;  but  there  are  other  frica- 
tive consonants  which  issue  through  side- 
apertures,  while  the  central  passage  is 
stopped.  These  are  called  Divided  conso- 
nants. 

Sounds  of  Divided  Consonants. 

Back  Divided  is  a  Gaelic  sound,  not  easily 
formed  by  unaccustomed  organs.  The 
centre  of  the  back  of  the  tongue  touches  the 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  33 

soft  palate,  while  the  voice  issues  over  the 
sides  of  the  tongue.  Top  Divided  has  the 
convex  tongue  raised  within  the  palatal  arch, 
while  the  sound  passes  through  high  side- 
apertures,  as  in  gli  (Ital.).  Point  Divided 
(L)  has  the  flattened  point  of  the  tongue  laid 
.on  the  upper  gum,  while  the  breath  passes 
over  the  free  sides  of  the  tongue. 

The  apertures  for  L  are  so  large  that  the 
voice  passes  through  them  without  friction. 
This  consonant,  therefore,  has  a  vowel-purity 
of  vocality.  Hence  it  is  often  used  to  form 
a  syllable  without  a  vowel,  as  in 

little^  middle,  etc. 

By  contracting  these  large  side-apertures 
of  Point  Divided  (L)  a  lateral  hissing  or 
buzzing  effect  is  produced,  as  heard  in  LI 
(Welsh)  and  in  the  vocalized  form  of  the  same 
articulation — a  Zulu  sound  of  L. 

Point  Mixed  Divided— (Th-Dh)— has  the 
tip  of  the  tongue  touching  the  teeth  (or  the 
gum),  leaving  interstitial  apertures  ovei  the 


34  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

sides  of  the  tip,  while  the  middle  of  the 
tongue  is  spread  out,  to  prevent  issue  over 
any  other  part  of  the  tongue. 

Point  Mixed  (S)  and  Point  Mixed  Divided 
(Th)  have  in  all  respects  the  same  attitude  of 
the  tongue,  save  for  the  contact  of  the  tip  for 
the  latter.  Divided  formation  may  take 
place  at  any  part  of  the  mouth.  We  have 
already  seen 

Back  Divided  (Guttural  L) 

Top  Divided  (gl) 

Point  Divided  (L) 

Point  Mixed  Divided  (Th-Dh) 

and  now  we  have  to  include 

Lip  Divided  (F-V) 

For  this  latter  articulation  the  lower  lip 
touches  the  edges  of  the  upper  teeth,  while 
the  breath  or  voice  passes  through  lateral  in- 
terstices between  the  lip  and  the  teeth. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  35 

Exercise. 

The  student  should  make  himself  perfectly 
familiar  with  the  difference  between  centre- 
emission  and  side-emission,  by  alternating  the 
following  sounds  without  vowels : 


s  th 

s  th 

s  th 

s  th 

zdh 

zdh 

zdh 

zdh 

wh  f 

wh  f 

whf 

whf 

W  V 

W  V 

W  V 

W  V 

rl 

rl 

rl 

rl 

Shut   Consonants. 

Another  series  of  consonants  results  from 
{complete  stoppage  of  the  mouth-passage. 
Thus  :  Back  Shut  means  closure  of  the  back 
of  the  tongue  on  the  soft  palate  (K-G-) ;  Top 
Shut  means  closure  of  the  top  of  the  tongue 
on  the  roof  of  the  mouth  (Palatal  T-D); 
Point  Shut  means  closure  of  the  forepart  of 
the  tongue  on  the  alveolar  arch  (T-D) ;  and 
Lip  Shut  means  closure  of  the  lips  (P-B). 

The  sounds  of  these  shut  consonants  are, 


36  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

of  course,  incapable  of  prolongation.  Their 
vocalized  forms  (G  D  B)  are,  therefore,  heard 
only  as  momentary  murmurs ;  and  their  non- 
vocal  forms  (K  T  P)  receive  their  only  audi- 
bility from  the  act  of  removing  the  organic 
contact.  Thus  the  pronunciation  of  the  word 
"  stop  "  does  not  end  with  the  closing  of  the 
lips,  but  with  their  separation  after  contact. 
This  separation  is  generally  further  audible 
in  the  little  puff  which  results  from  previous 
compression  of  the  breath. 

A  Principle  of  Organic  Action. 

This  principle  of  organic  separation,  as  a 
part  of  consonant  action,  applies  to  fricative 
as  well  as  to  shut  consonants.  The  rule  may 
be  laid  down  thus :  A  consonant  consists  of 
two  parts — a  position  and  an  action;  the 
position,  one  of  conjunction — the  action  one 
of  separation : — and  both  are  necessary  to 
perfect  articulation. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  37 

Nasal  Consonants. 

Each  of  the  shut  positions  yields  a  Nasal 
consonant.  The  oral  channel  being  entirely 
closed,  the  top  of  the  soft  palate  is  depressed 
and  the  breath  or  voice  flows  freely  behind 
it,  into  the  nose. 

In  their  non- vocal  forms  the  nasal  conso- 
nants have  but  little  audibility  because  of 
the  absence  of  compression,  and  consequently 
of  fricative  quality ;  but  in  their  vocal  forms 
the  nasals  are,  from  the  same  cause,  as  purely 
sonorous  as  vowels.  Thus  the  sound  of  n  is 
often  used  to  form  a  syllable  without  a 
vowel ;  as  in 

given,  dozen,  eaten,  cfec. 
The  Nasal  consonants  are  : 

Back  Nasal n     in  ink 

Top  Nasal — 

Point  Nasal n     in  front 

Lip  Nasal m     in  tempt 

Back  Nasal  Voice  .  -  ng 

Top  Nasal  Voice.  .   —          gn  (French) 

Point  Nasal  Voice .   —          n 

Lip  Nasal  Voice. .  .  m 


38  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

Nasalized  Vowels. 

Vowels  immediately  before  or  after  nasal 
consonants  are  very  apt  to  be  nasalized  ;  and 
the  nasalizing  habit  is  not  infrequently  ex- 
tended to  vowels  in  all  positions.  To  cure 
this  tendency,  the  ear  must  first  be  made 
conscious  of  the  difference  between  a  purely 
oral  and  a  partially  nasal  sound.  Then,  the 
learner  should  make  a  slight  break  between 
nasal  consonants  and  adjoining  vowels,  until 
the  requisite  power  of  fluent  sequence  is 
attained. 

English  Nasals  are  purely  nasal,  but  all 
English  vowels  should  be  purely  oral.  The 
French  elements  e?i,  in,  on,  etc.,  are  semi- 
nasal  vowels,  the  sound  being  emitted  partly 
through  the  mouth,  and  partly  through  the 
nose. 

Test  for  Nasality. 

The  student  can  easily  test  himself,  and 
find  out  whether  his  vowels  are  nasalized,  by 
repeatedly  pressing  his  nostrils  while  he 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  39 

prolongs  a  vowel  sound.  If  the  voice  is 
purely  oral,  pressure  on  the  nostrils  will 
have  no  effect;  if  the  voice  is  in  any  degree 
nasalized,  a  pulsation  of  the  sound  will  in- 
form him  of  the  fact. 

Throat  Consonants. 

Contraction  of  the  throat-passage  above 
the  glottis,  creates  a  friction  on  the  breath 
which  is  heard  as  an  element  of  speech 
(vocalized)  in  Ghain  (Arabic).  The  name  of 
this  element  is  Throat ;  when  vocalized, 
Throat  Voice  ;  when  nasalized,  Throat  Nasal, 
and  Throat  Nasal  Voice. 

Pseudo  Voice. 

The  throat  sound  is  also  heard  as  a  pseudo 
voice,  in  growling,  and  in  strong  stage 
whisper.  These  effects  are  produced  by 
vibration  of  the  epiglottis.  Another  semi- 
vocal  crackling  sound  is  formed  in  the  glottis 
as  a  pseudo  voice ;  that  is,  a  sound  on  which 
articulation  may  be  based.  This  has  a  chok- 
ing effect. 


40  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

Throat  Shut. 

Closure  of  the  throat-passage  creates  an 
element  which  is  used  in  some  dialects  as  a 
substitute  for  k.  This  is  the  same  effect 
which  is  heard  at  the  commencement  of  a 
cough.  French  phoneticians  call  it  coup  de 
la  glotte.  The  name  of  this  element  is 
Throat  Shut.  Of  course  this  sound  cannot 
be  vocalized,  because  it  has  no  issue  of 
breath. 

Aspirate — H. 

A  frictionless  emission  of  breath  through 
the  open  throat  is  the  effect  of  the  Aspirate 
H.  H  may  be  considered  as  a  non- vocal 
form  of  all  vowels,  because  the  position  of 
the  mouth  is  assimilated  to  that  for  the 
vowel  that  follows  the  h.  Thus  h  before  e 
may  be  called  a  formative  e,  before  o  a 
formative  o,  etc. 

Whisper. 

Such  formative  vowels  are  silent,  because 
the  throat  passage  is  too  open  to  give  fric- 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  41 

tional  audibility  to  the  breath.  True  non- 
vocal  vowels  receive  a  degree  of  compression 
in  the  throat  which  renders  them  distinctly 
audible.  This  effect  is  called  Whisper. 

Trills. 

When  the  organ  acted  on  by  the  breath  is 
lax  and  free  to  vibrate,  it  is  made  to 
shake  and  rattle.  Thus  the  throat  yields  a 
trill — of  the  epiglottis;  the  soft  palate 
yields  a  trill — of  the  uvula;  the  forepart  of 
the  tongue  yields  a  trill ;  and  the  lips  yield 
a  trill.  These  are  called  Throat  Trill,  Back 
Trill,  Point  Trill,  and  Lip  Trill. 

Clicks. 

In  ordinary  utterance  the  breath  is  in  con- 
tinuous outward  flow,  with  momentary  in- 
terruptions from  shut  positions  of  the  mouth  ; 
but  the  elements  called  Clicks  are  suctions. 
The  breath  is  held  in,  either  at  the  throat,  or 
by  a  Back  position  of  the  tongue,  while  the 
anterior  organs — the  forepart  of  the  tongue 
and  the  lips — move  suctively  from  shut  po- 


42  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

sitions.  The  resulting  sounds  are  elements 
of  speech,  in  Zulu  and  other  African 
tongues. 

Inter jectional   Clicks. 

The  Clicks  are  also  used  by  ourselves,  as 
Interjections.  Thus  the  Top  Click  and  the 
Point  Click  are  common  expressions  of  im- 
patience or  annoyance ;  the  Side  Click  is 
used  to  incite  a  horse  to  motion :  and  the 
Lip  Click  is  used  as  a  call  to  a  dog.  The 
latter  is  also  familiarly  heard  in  the  act  of 
osculation.  In  linguistic  use  the  Clicks  offer 
no  more  interruption  to  the  flow  of  voice 
than  do  our  p's  and  t's  and  k's. 

Teaching  the  Deaf. 

Students  of  Articulation,  and  especially 
the  Deaf,  are  very  apt  to  give  undue  promi- 
nence to  the  different  organic  actions. 
Speech  is  thus  made  heavy  and  labored; 
and  fluency  is  the  last  quality  acquired. 
The  opposite  order  should  be  the  aim  of 
instruction,  namely,  to  give  fluency  first, 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  43 

and  leave  accuracy  to  the  last.  A  prattling 
infant  may  be  taken  as  the  best  model  for  a 
beginner,  in  the  Art  of  Speaking.  The  in- 
fant makes  a  continuous  sound,  and  moves 
his  lips  and  tongue  at  random.  This  babble 
is  fundamental  speech.  It  only  needs  to  be 
regulated,  and  conventionized  to  become  in- 
telligent language. 

Fluency. 

So,  a  deaf  learner  should  first  be  taught  to 
make  a  continuous  sound,  of  any  vowel 
quality,  and,  with  lip  and  tongue  in  random 
motion,  make  all  possible  changes,  until  the 
relation,  and  the  difference,  between  voice 
and  oral  action  is  felt  and  understood.  Then 
wall  be  the  proper  time  to  begin  a  discrimi- 
nation of  the  elementary  actions,  and  to 
teach  them  as  parts  of  speech. 

But,  remembering  that  the  formation  of 
Shut  consonants,  and  even  of  Suction  Clicks, 
does  not  interfere  with  the  continuity  of 
voice,  let  the  student  ever  keep  this  con- 


44  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

tinuity  in  view,  in  his  efforts  to  master  any 
of  the  details  of  articulation.  In  practising 
on  a  new  element,  for  example,  let  him  first 
"  babble  "  it  on  a  stream  of  vocal  sound,  and 
so  secure  fluency  as  the  primary  requisite. 

Impediments  of  Speech. 

The  babbling  exercise  described  in  the 
preceding  section  is  one  of  the  most  useful 
in  removing  impediments  of  speech.  These 
impediments — called  Stuttering  and  Stam- 
mering— are  interruptions  of  vocal  con- 
tinuity, accompanied  by  stoppages  of  breath, 
pressures,  and  suctions,  such  as  are  legiti- 
mately used  in  speech,  but  which  become 
faults,  when  they  are  obtruded  obstruc- 
tively, on  the  pathway  of  vocal  sound. 

The  action  of  the  oral  organs  in  speech 
should  be  from  close  to  open  positions — that 
is,  from  consonant  to  vowel ;  so  that  the 
vowel  sounds  are  practically  continuous,  and 
the  consonant  sounds  are  only  momentary 
transitional  interruptions. 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  45 

In  stammering  and  stuttering,  the  action 
of  the  organs  is  from  open  to  close  positions 
— that  is,  from  vowel  to  consonant ;  and  the 
organs  thus  brought  into  contact  are  pressed 
together,  so  that  voice  can  find  no  egress ;  or 
they  start  off,  jerkingly,  and  repeat  the  act 
of  contact  again  and  again,  before  a  steady 
channel  for  the  voice  can  be  obtained. 

These  faults  of  speech  are  mainly  habits^ 
which  can  be  corrected  by  training.  A 
knowledge  of  the  Science  of  Speech  is  the 
best  director  of  efforts  to  remove  the  impedi- 
ments. 

Articulative  Defects. 

Other  defects  of  speech — such  as  Lisping, 
Burring,  Lallation,  <fec. — consist  merely  in 
the  substitution  of  one  organ  for  another,  or 
one  mode  of  organic  action  for  another.  The 
most  common  of  these  defects  are  :  Guttural 
instead  of  Lingual  vibration  for  R ;  Divided, 
instead  of  Centre,  emission,  for  hissing 
sounds —  as  tli  for  s  ;  Point,  instead  of  Back,. 


46  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

Shut  positions — as  t  for  k  ;  Non-vocal  instead 
of  Vocal  formations,  or  vice  versa;  Nasal 
instead  of  oral  emission ;  Obstructed  nasality, 
<fec  All  these  errors,  save  in  the  rare  cases 
of  congenital  malformation,  are  susceptible  of 
perfect  correction. 

Management  of  the  Breath. 

Breath  being  the  material  of  speech,  the 
management  of  the  breath  is  a  matter  of  first 
importance,  to  the  health,  comfort,  and  vocal 
power  of  the  speaker.  There  is  no  suction 
needed  to  fill  the  chest  with  air.  The  bony 
framework  has  only  to  be  raised,  and  atmos- 
pheric pressure  will  immediately  fill  up  the 
cavity  so  created  within  the  chest. 

Students,  both  of  speaking  and  singing, 
have  been  bewildered  and  misled  by  erro- 
neous teaching  in  regard  to  vocal  respiration. 
Raise  the  chest,  and  keep  it  raised,  and  you 
need  not  think  of  the  breath  at  all.  It  will 
attend  to  itself. 

The  chest  may  be  considered   as  a  curtain- 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  47 

rod,  from  which  the  abdomen  hangs  as  a 
curtain.  Keep  the  rod  high,  and  the  curtain 
entirely  passive,  so  that  it  may  be  free  to 
move,  inward  or  outward,  independently  of 
the  chest :  Or,  consider  the  chest  as  a  frame 
of  cast-iron,  incapable  of  motion,  whose 
whote  function  is  to  support  the  soft  organs 
pendent  below  it ;  and,  if  the  throat-passage 
to  the  lungs  be  but  open,  the  breathing  will 
be  easy,  regular,  silent,  and  full,  without 
effort.  Speaking  and  singing,  so  conducted, 
are  among  the  most  healthful  of  exercises. 

Articulative  Impulse. 

Speech  uses  very  little  breath.  The 
throat-passage  in  the  glottis  is  contracted  to 
a  mere  fissure  in  the  formation  of  voice ;  and 
there  is  so  little  waste,  that  the  speaker's 
pauses  are  as  much  to  let  off  superfluous 
breath,  as  to  replenish  the  lungs.  Then, 
consonants  are  often  mere  motions,  which 
involve  scarcely  any  expenditure  of  breath. 
And,  besides,  the  impulse  of  articulation 


48  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

does  not  come  from  the  chest,  but  from  the 
pharynx ;  and  affects  only  the  breath  within 
the  mouth.  Any  amount  of  compression 
and  percussion  may  be  given  by  the  pharynx 
to  the  confined  breath ;  so  that  emission 
from  the  lungs  is  not  necessary  to  the  audi- 
bility of  consonant  actions. 

This  last  fact  is  one  on  which  the  reader 
may  well  ponder.  The  firm  extrusive  im- 
pulse of  the  pharynx,  which  it  implies,  is  a 
power  that  may  be  new  to  him  in  theory,  but 
which  will  prove  its  reality  by  cultivation. 

Expulsive  Clicks. 

The  consonant  actions, — p,  t,  &, — may  be 
formed  with  strong  explosiveness,  without 
emission  from  the  lungs;  thus  producing  a 
series  of  what  may  be  called  expulsive  clicks, 
in  contradistinction  to  suctive  clicks. 

Articulation  in  Singing. 

All  that  has  been  said  here,  in  reference 
to  the  articulation  of  speech,  applies  equally 
to  the  articulation  of  song.  We  ought  to 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  49 

hear  the  singer's  every  syllable ;  and  that 
without  the  slightest  detriment  to  his  vocali- 
zation. One  who  does  not  articulate  his 
words  is  a  mere  Instrumentalist  upon  the 
Larynx,  and 

NOT  A  SINGER, 

An  exercise  for  the  development  of  pharyn- 
geal  power  will  form  a  fitting  conclusion  to 
this  treatise. 

Pharyngeal  Exercise. 

Hold  in  the  breath  at  the  throat,  and  read, 
without  issue  of  either  voice  or  whisper.  All 
the  actions  of  articulation — including  even 
the  organic  separations  of  m,  n,  I,  f,  th,  s, 
cfec. — should  be  audible,  without  throat-sound 
of  any  kind.  After  a  little  practice,  this  voice- 
less mouth-reading  should  be  fairly  intelli- 
gible to  a  near-by  listener ; — although  words 
containing  only  h  and  vowels  will  yield  no 
audible  effect.  The  next  and  culminating 
step  will  be,  to  unite  this  crisp  articulation 
with  vocality,  and  so,  form  that  rare  speci- 
men of  scholastic  art, 

A    GOOD    SPEAKER. 


50  THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH. 

ENGLISH  ELEMENTS, 

WITH  THE  TERMINOLOGY  OF  VISIBLE  SPEECH 
AND  KEY- WORDS. 

Vowels  and  Glides.  Key-  Words. 

High  Front eel 

High  Front  Wide ill 

Mid  Front  with  Y  glide ale 

Mid  Front  Wide  with  K  glide air 

Low  Front ell 

Low  Front  Wide an 

Mid  Top  Wide a  (article) 

Mid  Back  Wide ask 

Low  Back  Wide ah 

Low  Top  Wide  with  R  glide en- 
Mid  Back : up 

Low  Back  WTide  Round doll 

Low  Back  Round all 

Mid  Back  Wide  Round  with  R  glide ore 

Mid  Back  Round  with  W  glide old 

High  Back  Wide  Round pull 

High  Back  Round pool 

Mid  Back  Wide  with  Y  glide   isle 

Mid  Back  Wide  with  W  glide owl 

Low  Back  Wide  Round  with  Y  glide oil 

Y  and  High  Back  Wide  Round  with  R  glide  cure 

Y  and  High  Back  Round cue 


THE    SCIENCE    OF    SPEECH.  51 


Consonants.  -Key-  Words. 

Back  Shut  .........................   speak,  keep 

Back  Shut  Voice  ..................   beg,  get 

Back  Shut  Nasal  Voice  ..............    song 

Front  ......  ......................   hew 

Front  Voice  ........................   yew 

Top  Mixed  .........................   ash,  she 

Top  Mixed  Voice  ...................   rouge,  giraffe 

Point  Voice  ....  ........  ............    errand,  run 

Point  Divided  Voice  ................   all,  law 

Point  Shut  ........................    eat,  tea 

Point  Shut  Voice  ..................    add,  day 

Point  Shut  Nasal  Voice  .............   own,  no 

Point  Mixed  .......................   ace,  say 

Point  Mixed  Voice  ..................   ease,  zeal 

Point  Mixed  Divided  ................   oath,  thin 

Point  Mixed  Divided  Voice  ..........   with,  then 

Lip  Divided  .......................   safe,  fail 

Lip  Divided  Voice  ..................   save,  veil 

Lip  Mixed  ........................   wheel 

Lip  Mixed  Voice  ...................   weal 

Lip  Shut  .....  ...............  ......   ape,  pay 

Lip  Shut  Voice  .....................   ebb,  bed 

Lip  Shut  Nasal  Voice  ................   aim,  may 

Aspirates  ........   hay,  he,  high,  hoe,  who,  how,  hoy 

Point  Shut  and  Top  Mixed  ..........   each,  cheek 

Point  Shut  and  Top  Mixed  Voice  .....    edge,  gem 

Back  Shut  and  Point  Mixed  .........     expect 

Back  Shut  and  Point  Mixed  Voice.  .    .   exalt 


INDEX. 


The  following  Index  will  be  useful  in  furnishing  a 
basis  for  questions  in  the  examination  of  learners. 
For  example  : 

What  is  the  organic  cause  of  vowel  quality  ? 
What  is  a  Back  vowel  ? 
What  is  a  Top  vowel? 
What  is  a  Front  vowel  ? 
What  is  meant  by  delabializing  a  vowel  ? 
&c.,     &c.,     &c. 

Vowels. 

PAGE. 

Organic  Cause  of  vowel  quality 9 

Back,  Top,  and  Front  vowels 9 

Effect  of  the  lips  on  vowels 10 

Labialized  vowels , 10 

Elevation  of  the  Tongue  in  forming  vowels 11 

High,  Mid,  and  "Low  vowels 11 

The  delabializing  of  vowels 12 

Nine  vowels  individualized  and  located 13 

Primary  and  Wide  vowels 14 

Cause  of  Wide  quality 14 


54  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Eighteen  vowels  tabulated 15 

Wide  vowels  a  discovery  of  Visible  Speech 15 

Sounds  of  the  Front  vowels '., ..  17 

Back  Wide  vowels  clearer  than  their  Primaries.  .  17 

Sounds  of  the  Back  vowels 18 

Sounds  uncovered  by  delabializing  Round  vowels  18 

Sounds  of  the  Top  vowels 18 

The  letter  R  associated  with  Top  vowels 19 

The  Natural  vowel 19 

Rounding  of  vowels 19 

Symmetry  between  tongue  elevation  and  labial 

aperture 20 

Gamut  of  Thirty-six  vowels 20 

Possibilities  of  theoretical  increase 21 

Guttural  imitation  of  Rounding. 21 

Illustration  of  Rounding  by  the  hand 22 

Sounds  of  Back  Round  vowels 22 

Sounds  of  Top  Round  vowels 23 

Sounds  of  Front  Round  vowels 23 

Delabializing  Front  Round  vowels 24 

Sounds  are  realities 24 

Good  pronunciation 25 

Glides. 

Non-syllabic,  vowel-like  sounds 25 

The  English  Glides 26 


INDEX.  55 

Consonants. 

PAGE. 

Difference  between  vowels  and  consonants 27 

Consonantizing  vowels  and  vowelizing  consonants,  28 

Sounds  of  R  illustrate  both  classes 29 

Back  consonants  at  different  elevations 30 

German  sounds  of  ch 30 

Vocalized  consonants 31 

Mixed  consonants 31 

Centre-aperture  consonants 32 

Divided  aperture  consonants 32 

Sounds  of  Divided  consonants 32 

L  a  syllable 33 

Exercise  on  centre  emission  and  side  emission. .  .  35 

Shut  consonants 35 

Organic  separation  as  a  part  of  consonants 36 

Nasal  consonants 37 

N  a  syllable 37 

Sounds  of  the  Nasal  consonants  ...   37 

Nasalizing  vowels 38 

Test  for  nasality 38 

Throat  consonants 39 

Pseudo  voice 39 

Throat  shut 40 

The  aspirate,  H 40 

Formative  vowels 40 

Whisper 40 

Trills..  41 


56  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Clicks 41 

Interjectional  use  of  clicks 42 

Teaching  the  Deaf 42 

An  infant  model 43 

Fluency 43 

Impediments  of  Speech 44 

Oral  action  from  close  to  open  positions 44 

Articulative  Defects ...  45 

Management  of  the  Breath 46 

The  Chest 46 

Articulative  impulse  from  the  pharynx 47 

Expulsive  Clicks 48 

Articulation  in  singing 48 

Pharyngeal  Exercise 49 

English  Elements 50 

Index.,  53 


LIST  OF  WORKS  BY  A.  MELVILLE  BELL. 


I.—  I 
THE  SCIENCE  OF  SPEECH, Price  $0.50 

II.  —  Visible  Speech. 

SOUNDS    AND    THEIR   RELATIONS — REVISED    VISIBLE 

SPEECH,  4to,  cloth, Price  $2.00 

LECTURES  ON  PHONETICS, .60 

VISIBLE  SPEECH  READER, .40 

MANUAL  OF  VISIBLE  SPEECH  AND  VOCAL  PHYSIOLOGY,  .50 

ENGLISH  VISIBLE  SPEECH  IN  TWELVE  LESSONS.  ...  .50 

***  Separate  editions  of  this  work  for  German,  Italian  and 
French  learners  are  in  course  of  publication. 


A  few  copies  may  still  be  obtained  of  the 
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Also  of  the  following,  founded  on  the  Inaugural  edition  : 
EXPLANATORY  LECTURE  ON  VISIBLE  SPEECH,  ....  .15 

UNIVERSAL  STENO-PHONOGRAPHY, .75 

III.—  Defects  of  Speech. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  SPEECH  AND  DICTIONARY  OF  SOUNDS,  Price  $1.50 
THE  FAULTS  OF  SPEECH, .60 


Prof.  A.  Melville  Bell's  W ork*— (Continued.) 

IV.—  Elocution. 
PRINCIPLES  OF  ELOCUTION — THE  ELOCUTIONARY  MANUAL. 

Price  1.50 

ESSAYS  AND  POSTSCRIPTS  ON  ELOCUTION,    .....  1.25 

THE  EMPHASIZED  LITURGY, 1.00 

V. — Phonetic  Orthography. 

WORLD-ENGLISH— THE  UNIVERSAL  LANGUAGE.    ...  .25 

HANDBOOK  OF  WORLD-ENGLISH — READINGS.        .     .     .  .25 

VI. — Speech  Reading  from  the  Mouth. 
SPEECH  READING  AND  ARTICULATION  TEACHING,      .     .  .25 

VII. — The  following  pamphlets  have  been  recently  issued  : 

POPULAR  SHORTHAND, Price    .15 

SPEECH  TONES, 15 

NOTE  ON  SYLLABIC  CONSONANTS,      . 10 

ADDRESS  TO  THE  NATIONAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  ELOCUTIONISTS,     .15 

THE  SOUNDS  OF  R, 15 

PHONETIC  SYLLABICATION, 15 

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now  the  property  of  the  VOLTA  BUREAU.  These  Works  will  be 
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